38 new projects to irrigate 25,000 acres of land: Zamir

KABUL (Pajhwok): Implementation of 38 irrigation projects would help water 25,000 acres of land in 10 provinces of the country, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said on Tuesday.

Contracts for the projects were signed between Agriculture Minister Asadullah Zamir and representatives of 16 construction companies in Kabul.

At the signing ceremony, Zamir said the projects worth more than 366 million afghanis would irrigate 25,000 acres of land and benefit more than 44,000 people. The projects would also create jobs for more than 5,000 people.

Three of the projects would be enforced in Samangan, six in Balkh, four in Parwan, one in Panjsher, four in Kabul, seven in Herat, four in Kunar, three in Laghman, two in Takhar and four in Baghlan.

Construction of each irrigation network would help prevent the waste of 40 percent of water, cover 15 percent of new area and increase production by 20 percent, the minister added.

He said 295 irrigation networks had been built over the past two and a half years and the number would increase to 320 by the end of current solar year.

Shafiullah, a representative of a construction company implementing the projects in Laghman, assured his firm would focus quality and meeting the timescale.